Governments are still badly equipped to deal with science - report
The lack of progress in making governments both innovative and knowledge intensive could prove disastrous, according to an article published in the monthly publication 'The IPTS Report' (Institute for Prospective Technological Studies). Unless steps are taken to make sure those in power understand the opportunities and dangers of new science and technological developments 'anything from irreversible damage to endangering the survival of humanity' could be the outcome, claims the report. Written by Yehezkel Dror of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the article highlights the lag between the fast moving world of science and technology and the relatively slow response to those in power to appreciate the importance of these developments. 'It is necessary to compress the learning time of crucial social institutions in charge of collective choices...the prime institution that has to go on a crash course in improvement is government,' says the report. In fact, while the author recognises that there have been some improvements in government, such as the establishment of the European Union and the introduction of some new elements such as transparency, he concludes that overall governance is now getting worse. One of the main reasons for this is the lack of appropriate skills that the governments have. Taking the example of knowledge-based government, Mr Dror finds that many of the decision makers do not have sufficient knowledge themselves. He says he has found that too many politicians and government staff have shown a lack of science and technology literacy and adds that he has found no examples of plans to address this. 'The expectation that governments can guide and regulate knowledge-economies and facilitate knowledge societies without themselves being knowledge intensive in a strong sense of that term, is preposterous.' In an environment in which more 'fuzzy gambles' need to be taken, having that knowledge is even more important. To make this happen, more knowledge experts are required in government and the role of scientists in government needs to be rethought, according to Mr Dror. In terms of innovative government, creativity is essential. But the author does not feel that governments have shown the ability to increase creativity within the confines of a traditional government structure, so they need to rely on external input. 'However, a survey by the author of about 45 countries, including many European Union members, clearly showed that the vast majority have nothing resembling a full scale methodologically advanced think tank, taking a long range and systemic look at main policy spaces with emphasis on development of radically new options,' says the report. To address this, there need to be more 'innovation-enthusiastic enclaves near the corridors of power.' Only this will help governments to 'cope with the awesome future-impacting power of science and technology'.